Ratchet recliners such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,947 conventionally include a pivoted cam for locking a toothed pawl in engagement with a toothed sector for any adjusted position of the seat back hinge bracket, with a hand lever provided for direct actuation of the pivoted cam. In many installations the locations of such hand lever may be inconvenient for manual actuation, particularly where located in close proximity to a seat belt attachment.
Certain prior attempts to provide a more convenient remote release lever through cable linkage, or auxiliary pivot for a manual release lever mounted on the seat frame with a connecting link to the locking cam, have required coordinated assembly provisions for the lever pivot on the seat frame and the main hinge assembly with related fabrication and tolerance problems.